First I've heard of it

I see via Ambinder's page that there is, apparently, "controversy" surrounding an upcoming "Equality March" on DC in a little over a week. It seems that local gay rights advocates are peeved that the march will distract from their own efforts.

But on Oct. 11, this conservative, measured progress will collide with the National Equality March, a hastily organized gathering of gay-rights supporters on the National Mall. The march, announced just 6 months ago by Harvey Milk protégé and AIDS quilt founder Cleve Jones -- has garnered criticism in the gay blogosphere, slammed as a vanity project for Jones and a distraction from state-level gay marriage initiatives in Maine and Washington state. And D.C. advocates are asking why local organizers were not asked to the table so close to the city's own marriage-rights battle.

It seems like it must have been a slow news day over at Atlantic Politics. The whole post seems to be much ado about nothing. While I'm not in the highest echelons of the marriage equality advocates here in Maine, I keep in pretty close touch and nobody has even mentioned this once. You'd think someone here would have groused a little if there was really all that much controversy boiling over.

Also, I've never organized a march like this, but is "just" 6 months of planning really hasty? Seems like plenty of time to me.

On the other hand, I think big marches on Washington tend to be little more than a feel-good experience for the people involved. I don't think they change any minds, I don't think they advance any concrete goals, and I think they tend to be disconnected from the actual work being done to move a cause forward.

Or, in other words, who cares?